Let us be one of the very last to wish you…HAPPY NEW YEAR!
We’re so happy to be back in action.
The first charts of 2018 are official, and here are the highlights.
Never say never. As 2017 came to a close, St. Vincent‘s grip on the top spot seemed as if it wouldn’t end. Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings pushed valiantly to reach #1 but looked like they were giving up the fight, dipping 2-3 on the last NACC 200 of the year and allowing Fever Ray to move past them. Well, we couldn’t be more pleased to see the late, great singer and her band bounce 3-1 this week and reach the top after all. It’s a fitting tribute to a dynamic and thrilling performer who inspired so many people with the same ‘never say never’ story in her own life, finding fame after 40. Congrats to Daptone Records.
Speaking of after 40, the indomitable Mavis Staples scores the lone new entry in the NACC Top 10 this week, leaping 11-5 with If All I Was Was Black. At 78, Staples may be the oldest artist to ever reach the NACC Top 10. Her studio-album releases, of which there are 15, reach back to 1969, but her performing days date back to 1948 with her father and siblings as The Staple Singers, who enjoyed a string of hits in the 1970’s including their two #1s “I’ll Take You There” and “Let’s Do It Again.” Staples last five solo albums have been released on ANTI- Records, opening her up to a whole new generation of fans.
Never has our chart recap included so many seasoned veterans. The NACC 200’s highest debut this week comes from the iconic Canadian singer-songwriter, Neil Young. A two-time Rock And Roll Hall of Fame inductee (both as a solo artist and a member of Buffalo Springfield), Neil Young & The Promise Of The Real debut at #89 on the chart with their anti-Trump release, The Visitor (out on Reprise). At 72, Young has released 44 albums since his self-titled debut in 1969. Paste Magazine ranked him second only to Bob Dylan on their list of greatest living songwriters.
Enjoying the biggest climb on the chart this week are The Wailin’ Jennys. Their Red House album, Fifteen, actually first landed on the NACC 200 in October but with their 183-83 jump this week, they’ve reached a new peak on the chart. Currently #1 on the NACC Folk Chart, the Canadian trio first formed in 2002 and have released five LPs. No one in the band is named Jenny. The group’s name is a pun on legendary country singer, Waylon Jennings.
The first #1 Add of 2018 comes from Portland, OR quintet Mimicking Birds. The band began in 2004 as a one-man vehicle for lead singer Nate Lacy’s home recordings but became a trio in 2008 when they signed to Modest Mouse lead singer Isaac Brock’s label Glacial Pace, where they have recorded three albums, including their latest, Layers Of Us.
NACC 200 Chart: Top 5 ADDS
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# | ARTIST | TITLE | LABEL | # OF ADDS
1) MIMICKING BIRDS Layers Of Us [Glacial Pace] //47//
2) PRIDS, THE Do I Look Like I’m In Love? [This-A-Way] //42//
3) GOODFIGHT Florida Room [Baby Blue] //40//
4*) FOVEA Pencil Me In [Omad] //34//
4*) REMY Remy [Carpark] //34//
*denotes a tie
#1 On NACC Genre Charts:
GENRE: ARTIST Title [Label]
NON-COMM: SHARON JONES & THE DAP-KINGS Soul Of A Woman [Daptone]
NACC NEXT: BECK Colors [Capitol]
ELECTRONIC: FEVER RAY Plunge [Mute]
HEAVY: MORBID ANGEL Kingdoms Disdained [Silver Lining]
HIP HOP: SHREDDERS Dangerous Jumps [Doomtree]
JAZZ: PHIL DEGREG TRIO Queen City Blues [Self-Released]
FOLK: THE WAILIN’ JENNYS Fifteen [Red House]
WORLD: BOUBACAR TRAORE Dounia Tabolo [LusAfrica]